Machine for tagging plug-tobacco



(No Model.) 6 Sheets-Sheet 1.

T. P. SGULLIN & A. MAEULEN. MACHINE FOR TAGGING PLUG TOBACCO.

No. 567,174. Paten Sept. 8, 1896.

lllllllllllllllll ms PETERS m. PHOTIIUYNO. WASHINGTON n. c.

(No Model.) 6 Sheets-Sheet 2.

T. P. SGULLIN & A. MA'EULEN.v

MACHINE FOR TA-GGING. PLUG TOBACCO.

atented Sg pt. 8, 1896 lll' (No Model.) a sheets-sheet 3. T. F. SUULLIN & A. MAEULEN MACHINE FOR TAGGING PLUG TOBAGGO.

RTTURNE),

THE Nonms Pzrcps 00, Pumou'ma, WASHINGTON, u. c.

'(No Model.) 6 Sheets-$heet 4. T. F. SGULLIN 82A. MAEULEN. MACHINE FOR TAGGING' PLUG TOBACCO.

Patented Sept. 8, 1896.

' 'ATTORNEY.

(No Model.) 6 Sheets-Sheet 5. T. F. SGULLIN & A. MAEULEN; MACHINE FOR TAGGING PLUG TOBACCO.

Patented Sept. 8, 1896.

(No Model.) 6 Sheets--Sheet 6.

T. P. SGULLIN 81; A, MAEULEN. MACHINE FOR TAGGING PLUG TOBAGGO.

No. 567,174. Patented T5. 5.7.

IIIIIIIIIIIII II, I

III I l. I ,rn I

Hilarneq.

UNITED STATES FFICE,

PATENT THOMAS F. SGULLIN AND ALBERT MAEULEN, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, ASSIGNORS TO JAMES A. HENDERSON, OF DANVILLE, VIRGINIA.

MACHINE FOR TAGGING PLUG-TOBACCO.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 567,174, dated September 8, 1896.

Application filed April 20, 1396.

T0 at whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that we, THOMAS F. ScULLIN and ALBERT MAEULEN, citizens of the United States, residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Tagging Plug-Tobacco; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to machines for attaching tags to plug-tobacco; and it consists in novel mechanism for sorting out the tin name plates or tags, which are provided with projecting points at right angles to the body of the tag, and for supplying such tags and for pressing them against the tobacco to cause the points to penetrate the plug and secure the tags thereto; and it consists in the construction hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings similar figures of reference indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Figure 1 is a plan view of the entire machine, except a portion of the device for feeding the plugs of tobacco and which is not shown in the figure because of lack of room on the sheet. The figure shows the hopper into which the tags are first placed broken away in part to reveal the underlying mechanism. Fig. 1 is a continuation of the machine shown in Fig. 1, being the part referred to above as being too wide for the sheet. Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the machine. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3 3 of Figs. 1 and 5, looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 4 is a view in side elevation, showing the side opposite from that shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is an end view of the machine as viewed from the end where the tobacco is fed in. Fig. 6 is a detail showing the mechanism for making and breaking the circuit to the electromagnets which are used in picking up the metal tags. Fig. 7 is a plan view, and Figs-S and 9 details in side and end elevation, respectively, of a modified device for sorting the tags in bulk and delivering them singly ontov the horizontal carrying-belts; Fig. 10 is en- Serial No. 588,368. (No model.)

larged view of the tag holding receptacle shown in Fig; 9.

The numeral 1 represents a horizontal frame which is supported on legs 1, and the several parts of the operative mechanism of the machine rest upon or are attached to said frame.

2 denotes a bed-plate extending transversely across one end of the frame and eX- tending laterally beyond the frame, as shown in Fig. 5, to support the mechanism for feed ing the tobacco plugs into place to receive the tags.

3 represents a table which is elevated a suitable distance above the level of the bed-plate 2, (see Fig. 5,) and upon this table is secured the frame at, shaped in cross-section and of suitable size to receive the plugs of tobacco to be tagged, which are placed therein flat side up,as shown in the drawings. This frame is open on top and will preferably be open 011 its outer side to allow ready access in arranging the contents. The ends of the frame, at points next to the table, are slotted to allow the bottom plug of tobacco to be pushed longitudinallyout'of the frame and into a vertically-reciprocatin g carrier '5. This carrier is open at both ends, whereby the plug entering at one end can, after being operated on, be pushed out through the other end to make room for the next plug. The purpose of the reciprocating carrier is to bring the plug of tobacco down onto a series of tags, which are arranged points up on a block in the path of saidcarrier. To this end the carrier will be openon its under side, so as to expose the plug, and the downstroke of the carrier will be regulatedso as to terminate after pressing in the tags. The carrier is bolted or otherwise secured to the cross-head 6, which works between the guides 7 on the inner face of the standard '7 The standard 7 is bolted to the bed-plate 2. r

The feeding of the plugs of tobacco into the carrier, the discharge of the plugs therefrom, the reciprocation of the carrier, and the delivery of the tags in proper order to the block to be pressed into the tobacco constitute the essential features of our machine, and in order to understand the construction ICO ' arm 14.

8 is a pinion mounted on the shaft 8 and meshing with the spur-gear 9 on the countershaft 9. The counter-shaft 9 projects beyond the frame 1 and terminates with the beveled cog-wheel 9 The beveled wheel 9 meshes with a corresponding wheel 10 on the shaft 10. The shaft 10 is parallel with the frame 1 and is mounted on brackets 10", 3

secured to the said frame. The sprocketwheel 10 is mounted on the shaft 10.

11 is a vertical standard bolted to the top of the bed-plate 2.

on the end of the shaft 11, as shown, and is connected with the wheel 10' by means of the sprocket-chain 11 On the opposite end of the shaft the disk 12, carrying the crankpin 12 and the toe 12, is mounted and turns 1 pulley being connected by belt 17 with the with the shaft.

Standards 13, terminating with journalboxes at their upper ends, are bolted to the bed-plate 2 and form the supports for the horizontal reciprocating shaft 13. of the shafts 11 and 13 intersect.

12. By the revolution of the disk the shaft 13 will be reciprocated. A horizontal blade 13 is bolted to the end of the shaft 13 and 1 is adjusted so as to enter the slot in the 1 frame 4 and by the longitudinal movement of the shaft 13 push the lowest plug of toi They are removed from the under side of the bacco out of the frame into the carrier 5,

which at the proper moment is opposite on 1 the other side of the holder. When the blade 13 is withdrawn by the return stroke carrier will be deposited on a belt and trans- 1 ported to some other part of the factory, but it might be dropped into a chute or carried 1 in some other way, all of which are not mag i fastened.

Bolted to the under side of the bed-plate is the hanger 14, to which the shaft 14; is

terial to this invention.

journaled, and on this shaft is mounted an This arm is held in such a position and is of such a length that every time the disk 12 makes a revolution the toe 12 comes It terminates with j ournal-boxes of usual construction, within which is mounted the shaft 11, parallel with the shaft 10. A sprocket-wheel 11 is mounted 1 The axes apt to stick together in masses which are in contact with a friction-roller 14: on the upper end of the arm and carries the arm over until the roller clears the end of the toe. A spring 14 brings the arm back again into its first position. Elastic stops 1% are placed at the ends of the stroke of the arm. These stops will preferably consist of a metal socket to contain a rubber bumper, and a set-screw through the bottom of the socket for purposes of adj ustment.

15 is a bell-crank mounted underneath the carrier 5. It is connected with the cross-head 6 by means of the rod 15 and with the arm 149 by means of the rod 15 By means of the above-described mechanism each revolution of the disk 12 forces down the carrier with its plug of tobacco and releases and returns it quickly into position to receive a new plug during the same revolution of the disk.

We will now describe the method of assortin g the tags and arranging them inproper position as needed under the reciprocating carrier.

The tags in bulk are dumped into the hopper 16 preparatory to separation. This hopper is superimposed above the horizontal cylindrical wire brush 1 7, and is provided with a longitudinal orifice through its bottom, through which the tags will be fed onto the brush. The brush is revolved at a high speed by means of the pulley 1'7 on its shaft, said pulley 18 on the shaft 18, (see Fig. 45,) which shaft is provided with the larger pulley 18, driven by belt connection with the pulley 8 on the main driving-shaft 8. The tags are hard to separate. In order to disintegrate these masses, we provide the beater and separator 16, which consists of a shaft driven by belt connection with the brush-shaft and having a series of radial blades which constantly agitate the contents of the hopper.

The points 011 the tags by entering between the wires on the brush cause the tags to be picked up and carried around with the brush.

brush by means of the plate 17, which fits the curvature of the brush and acts asa guard to prevent the tags from working past on the wrong side of the brush, and the edge of "which plate acts as a scraper to remove the tags from the brush. The tags, after their removal by the scraper-plate, are guided into the vibrating boxes 19 by means of the curved plate 17 V g The hopper, brush, and vibrating box are all secured to a vertical frame 20, which is mounted on the end of the horizontal frame 1 opposite to that to which the bed-plate 2 is The vibrating boxes 19 are here shown as two in number, but may be more than that number or only one. The boxes are suspended by means of the links 19. Supported by suitable brackets 20 are the vertical shafts 21, having bevel-gears 21 on their lower ends meshing with bevel-gears on the shaft 18, whereby rotary motion is transmitted to the vertical shafts. Terminating the upper ends of the shafts 21 are the disks 21 with waved or serrated peripheries. 19 is a rod which is pivotally secured to the vibrating box 19 and has its outer end resting against the disk 21 The springs 19 (see Fig. 2) press the rods firmly against the said disks, so that when the disks are rotated an alternating rectilinear motion is imparted to the rod and the boxes 19 are vibrated. The boxes 19 are divided by partitions into as many sections as it is desired to place numbers of tags on the plugs of tobacco, and each of these sections is provided with sloping bottoms, which are studded with a series of vertical pins, which keep the tags as they are dropped from the brush 17 from collecting again into bunches. The vibratory motion imparted to the boxes causes the tags on the sloping bottoms to work down to the lowest edge. At the low edge is a slot through the side and entirely across it, extending to the outside of the box. The slot is but a little wider than the thickness of the metal from which the tag is made. This horizontal slot is provided with a series of vertical slots which communicate with it. The purpose of these slots is to allow the tags to pass out of the boxes, one thickness at a time, the rightangled points on the tags passing through the vertical cuts or slots leading from the horizontal one 5 but in order for the tags to pass out of the boxes they must be in a position with their points up; otherwise they cannot go through the horizontal slot. An opening is provided at the lower inner end of each box through which an oversupply of the tags can escape, and by means of the troughs 19 are conveyed away from the belts 22 and drop either onto the floor of the room or into some receptacle placed to catch them.

The belts 22 are placed immediately under the outlet-slots in the boxes in such position that the tags as delivered from the boxes will be deposited on the belts. The shaft 22 is mounted on the frame 20, as shown in Fig. 3, and has a series of pulleys secured thereto, over which the belts 22 run. A parallel shaft 22, mounted on brackets supported from the frame 20, is supplied with small pulleys over which the belts run, the pulleys on the shafts 22 and 22being adjusted so as to make the upper section of the belt horizontal. Each one of the belts 22 is provided with a belttightener 24, consisting of a pulley mounted on the upper end of a standard 24:, which is pivoted at its lower end to the cross-beam 24 and is provided with the screw-bolt 2 1, whereby the slack in the belt can be taken up by forcing the pulley 24 against it. A stationary sloping table 25 receives the tags from the belts 22, and is provided with grooved ways 25 placed opposite each of the belts. The ways are provided with expanded or funnel-shaped mouths to facilitate the entrance of the tags therein, and the sides of the ways are provided with overhanging edges just Wld6- enough apart to allow the upwardlyprojecting spurs to pass through.

26 represents a second table with ways 26 similar to the ways 25, above described, into the expanded mouths of which the tags from the table 25 are deposited by means of electromagnets in the manner as will be hereinafter described. The table 26 is supported on the upper ends of the elastic plates 26, so as to be susceptible of longitudinal vibratory movement. The table is further supported by means of the lever 26, the lower end of which lever is bent at right angles and presses against a toothed wheel 26, wherebyavibratory motion is given to the table, causing the tags to work down the ways on the table and deposit themselves on the block 27. From the block 27 the tags are picked up by means of a second series of magnets and are deposited in proper position on the block 28.

The block 28, loaded with the tags, is made to move forward at the right moment and occupy a position under the carrier, which descends and presses its plug of tobacco onto the tags.

We will now describe the mechanism for manipulating the electromagnets and the sliding block 28.

The numerals 29 represent a pair of vertical standards bolted to the upper side of the frame 1. To the upper ends of these standards the bars 30 are pivoted, and the lower ends of the bars 30 are joined together by means of the cross-bar 31, and secured to this cross-bar is the arm 32.

32 is a stud-pin secured to the arm 32, and is provided with a friction-roller.

33 is a disk mounted eccentrically on the counter-shaft- 9 and having the side slot 33, into which the stud-pin with its roller is proj ected, and by the revolution of this disk the bars 30 and arm 32, connected with said bars, are given an oscillatory movement. A pair of standards 3st are provided, to the upper ends of which a pair of levers 35 are pivoted. The lower ends of these levers are connected with the bars 30 bymeans of the connectingrod 35 The top ends of the levers 35 are joined together by the rod 35', and from this rod are suspended the electromagnets 36.

These magnets are weighted and are hinged to the bar, so as always to maintain a vertical position, whereby, when the levers are tilted a suitable distance toward the table 25, the magnets, being in the same Vertical plane with the tagways, will drop down suffioiently close thereto to pick up a tag, and by the return oscillation of the levers the tags will be carried by the magnets up to and deposited at the mouth of the ways on the table 26. break in the electric current by which the magnets are charged will be made at the right time to release the tags where wanted. The second series of magnets 37 are suspended IIO shaft 9.

in like manner from the rod 38. This rod connects the upper ends of the pair of levers 39, which levers are pivoted to the standards 10 and are connected with the bars by means of the connecting-rods 39. The block 28 is connected with the short arm extension 31 of the cross-bar 31 by means of the connecting-bar28. (See Fig. 3.) Parallel with each of the rods 35 and 38 are the rods 41, supported by suitable brackets 42, and from the rods 41 are projected a series of wire fingers or guards 43 for the purpose of holding back the remainder of the tags, except the one which is being picked up by the magnet. The magnets used in this machine will be wired together in any suitable manner and will be supplied with a current from any suitable generator through the Wires a4 and 45, Fig. 5. The circuit is made through a springplate, (see Fig. 6,) which is held closed by the mutilated pulley 46, mounted on the counter- VVhen the mutilated part of the pulley reaches the plate, the plate is released and drops down, thereby breaking the circuit.

The modification shown in Figs. 7 8, and 9 is for mechanism to take the place of the hopper and wire brush for supplying tags to the vibrating boxes 19. 47 are vertical hoppers, one for each compartment of the boxes 19. They are filled with tags and are each provided witha movable bottom, which is an- 1 slotted opposite the ends of the bottom plug tomatically forced up as the hopper is emptied, so as to keep the tags at the same height constantly. This automatic feed is secured 5 through one of the slots and push the bottom plug out through the opposite slot into the 1 carrier, in the manner substantially as shown by mounting the bottom on the end of a ver tical screw, the screw passing through a threaded hole in said bottom, and then by providing bevel-gears on the lower end of the screws and on a counter-shaft, which countershaft is indirectly connected with the main driving-shaft 8. This counter-shaft is represented by the numeral 48 and the vertical screws by the numeral 49. The shiftingpawl 50 enables the shaft 48 to be thrown out of gear, whereby the feeding of the tags into the boxes 19 will stop, and whereby, by means of the crank 51, the screws can be rotated by hand rapidly in readjusting the bottoms of the hoppers. 52 represents brushes which travel back and forth over the tops of the hoppers and brush the tags off into the boxes 19 as fast as they are brought above the rims of the hoppers by the action of the screws &9. The drawings illustrate the construction so clearly that further description is deemed unnecessary.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim as new, and wish to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a machine for tagging tobacco, the

' combination with a reciprocating carrier to combination, with mechanism for sorting the tags and depositing them in position to enter the plug, of a carrier to receive the plug to be tagged, areciprocating cross-head to which the carrier is secured, guides to direct the movement of the carrier, mechanism for reciprocating the cross-head consisting of are volving disk having a toe on its periphery, a pivoted arm having its upper end in the path of the toe and adapted to be moved by the said toe, a spring to return the arm, a bellcrank connected with the arm and also with the cross-head, and means for charging and discharging the carrier with tobacco.

2. In a machine for tagging tobacco, the combination, with mechanism for sorting the tags and depositing them in position to enter the plug, of a carrier to receive the plug to be tagged, a reciprocating cross-head to which the carrier is secured, guides to direct the movement of the carrier, mechanism for reciprocating the cross-head, consisting of a revolving disk having a toe on its periphery, a pivoted arm having its upper end in the path of the toe and adapted to be moved by said toe, a spring to return the arm, a bell-crank connected with the arm and also with the cross-head, and means for charging and discharging the carrier with tobacco consisting of a shaft mounted so as to permit longitudinal movement and having a slotted yoke, a

. wrist-pin on the same disk carrying the toe and working in the slotted yoke whereby an alternating rectilinear motion is secured for the shaft by the revolution of the disk, a

magazine filled with horizontal layers or plugs of tobacco, the walls of. the magazine being and a push-plate secured to the reciprocating shaft and adapted to enter the magazine and specified.

3. In a tagging-machine, a reciprocating carrier and means for conveying plug-tobacco thereto and for removing it therefrom after {the tobacco is tagged, in combination with 3 vibrating boxes into which the tags are fed ;in regulated quantities from superimposed hoppers, said vibrating boxes having elongated slot-outlets with aseries of right-angled communicating slots forming a comb through which the tags can pass out of the box but 1 only with their points up, belt-carriers to receive the tags as discharged from the vibrating boxes and convey them to inclined i ways, electromagnets for conveying the tags from the lower ends of the ways and a lat- 3 erally-reciprocating block to receive the tags contain the tobacco to be tagged, of a block on .which the tags are placed in position to be applied to the plug, said block having a laterally-reciprocating movement whereby it will move under the descending carrier so as to present the tags at the right moment and then move back to receive a new supply of tags.

5. The combination, with a reciprocating carrier containing a plug of tobacco to be tagged, and a movable block to receive and carry the tags into position under the carrier, of a hopper into which the tags are dumped in bulk, means as shown and described for separating the tags from each other and discharging them in uniform and regulated quantities, a vibrating box or boxes to receive the tags from the hoppers and having sloping bottoms terminating opposite the lowest edge thereof with horizontal outlets having right-angled communications substan tially as shown and for the purposes specified carrier-belts to receive the tags from the boxes and means for conveying the tags from the belts to the before-mentioned bar, said means 20 

